


Unlikely Housemates

by CeeLaw



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-03 13:34:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12749349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeeLaw/pseuds/CeeLaw
Summary: Danny is Caught by his parents and tortured for six weeks, after being rescued by Jaz, he has a lot of healing left to do and where better to do it than with Vlad. Hurt/comfort that will eventually turn into a romance if I ever manage to find time to finish it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot that I added to recently. originally posted on FF.net, All characters belong to their creators as always.

"Danny!" The voice cut through his consciousness like a knife, just another wound to add to the list. He hoped if he didn't respond, the voice would go away and he could go back to dying slowly. 

"Danny, please open your eyes, please!" the voice begged of him, he felt the restraints that had been cutting into his wrists loosen and fall away completely. It was Jaz, he thought with sudden recognition, which could only mean his brain was torturing him again. Jaz wasn't here; she should be away at college; Danny felt the ankle restraints being removed. He had had many fantasies in the past few weeks, but this one was the most realistic, and that included the one where he came out to his parents, dated Sam, and saved the earth from a meteor. 

Danny opened his eyes, maybe if he saw that no one else was there, that he was still alone in the lab, his brain would believe it. That's when he saw her, blue eyes and red hair, Jasmine, his older sister. 

" That's it Danny, open your eyes for me. We need to get you out of here and to a hospital, do you think you could change back?" Jaz looked at him with concern, he could only guess what he looked like, the concern was probably warranted. 

"I... I..." His throat was dry, his voice coming out hoarse, taking a shaky breath in and licking his lips for moisture he tried again. " I can't." 

"Oooooooooook....." Jaz looked at him with confusion. "Let's get you up then, we have to get you out of here." 

Sitting up with the help of his sister, Danny felt his vision start to tunnel inwards. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the floor coming towards his face fast.

 

When Danny woke, he found himself in a big bed in a room that he didn’t recognize. The bed was plush underneath him and the sheets silky and smooth against his skin, the pillows were fluffy and smelled clean. It was a large room, very opulent… wait he did know where he was. He had to be at Vlad’s, only that fruitloop would have a room that looked like the one that he was in. Now that he knew where he was, he saw that the room was done up in green and gold, packers colors.   
“So little badger, you decided to come back to the land of the living.” Vlad materialized next to him. He was impeccably dressed as always; three-piece suit, tie, and silver hair pulled back in a low ponytail.   
“How did I get here?” The last thing that he remembered was being in the lab. Being strapped to the table and wanting to just fully die.   
“Your sister brought you to me, after finding you strapped to an exam table in your parents’ lab.” Vlad looked a little pissed on his behalf. “Had I any indication that you were in fact being held there, I would have come for you immediately. This is no doubt the fault of your idiot father.”   
Danny thought about that for a minute, his dad was the one who had captured him. It was his mom though, who had started the testing and torture. It had been around the clock experiments on him for the first few days until they realized that Fenton wasn’t home, that he was gone. They had blamed Phantom for that, interrogating him and torturing him to get the location of their son from him. Danny had held strong though, he knew that if they knew that Fenton was Phantom, that they would drown in their guilt and he couldn’t allow that. 

“Believe what you want, nothing I say will change what you think of my family.” Danny wasn’t going to get into this fight with Vlad, he was simply too tired to fight with anyone. Groaning he sat up in bed, he felt like shit, placing his feet on the floor Danny hung his head to fight off the nausea that swamped him and braced his palms against his knees.   
“Daniel, you shouldn’t be getting up right now. You need to rest.” Vlad made to push Danny back down to the bed. His tone was soft, which threw Danny off a bit and allowing him to be moved towards the bed. “I don’t want to fight. Just rest, let your body heal a bit.”  
Danny wanted to fight him, but he was tired. He could feel his eyes drifting closed.   
**********************************************************************************************************************  
**Flashback**  
Danny’s parents had left three days ago to take Jaz to move into the dorms of her dream college. Meanwhile, Danny had been busy training with Sam and Tucker, he needed to get stronger if he was going to continue fighting ghosts in his spare time. Four more days of constant training before they came home, which means that he had to get busy if he wanted to finish everything that he wanted to accomplish.   
Walking down to the lab he let the twin bands of light encompass his body, there was no time like the present to start for the day. Once there he started the warm ups that Sam thought would be best to start with, flying through the hoops that he programmed to come down from the ceiling and such.   
“GHOST!!!!” he heard bellowed. It surprised him so much that he dropped from the air with a thud. A moment afterwards he felt a pinch in his shoulder and felt the world dim around him as he lost consciousness.   
**********************************************************************************************************************

“You can’t be serious! What would make you think that I’m going to leave him here with you?!” Loud voices woke him up from the deep sleep he had slipped into.   
“Jaz, I am simply suggesting that going home to the people who tortured him for six weeks is not a good idea.” Vlad’s calm voice replied to Danny’s shrieking sister.  
Danny moaned as he opened his eyes, the light didn’t seem so bright the last time he woke up. He was in the same room as before, but this time it was occupied by Vlad and Jaz, both of whom seemed to be arguing over him. “Hey, I’m right here. There’s no need to yell.” He sat up with a groan, he was hoping that he could diffuse the situation if he let them know that he was awake, not that he could have continued to sleep through their fighting.   
“Danny! I’m so glad your awake! And OK!” Jaz flung herself at him.   
“Jaz, I’m ok, but I can’t breathe with you squeezing the life from me.” She released him and Danny took a long breath. He could see the worry in her eyes. “What are you fighting about?”  
“Were not fighting, we are discussing when you should come home with me.”  
Danny thought about it for a minute, if he went home, would his parents know his secret? If they didn’t, he would never be able to tell them, it would be a secret he would have to keep the rest of his life. If they did know, he would just be putting himself right back on the dissection table. What Vlad and Jaz had been arguing over now made sense to him, it seemed as if Jaz wanted him to go home, and Vlad wanted him to stay. Vlad had been silent up to this point, Danny looked over to him and wondered what he should do.   
“I’m not sure what I want Jaz,” Danny was watching Vlad, measuring his response to Jaz. “Of course I would love to go home, but I’m not sure if I could handle that.”  
“Little Badger, if you don’t think you’re ready for that just yet, may I suggest that you stay here for a bit longer? Just until you decide that you’re ready?” Vlad decided that it was time he interject his opinion on the matter.  
“Vlad, I can’t ask that of you, I mean, what would we even tell my parents? The cops? You’re the mayor, but I don’t think that will just solve all our problems, I’ve been missing for the last six weeks.” Danny had hope that Vlad had valid arguments to his objections, half-hearted as they were, they were really for Jaz’ sake.   
“I’ve already contacted the authorities and let them know that I found you this morning on my front porch and that I had the best medical team here to help with your recovery. I have already called and talked to your parents and they will be over shortly to see you. I had hoped that you would want to stay, so I went ahead and told them that I had the best psychiatrist on call to tend to any psychological needs you may have after your abduction.” Vlad answered all of his concerns and Danny sighed in relief, which he hoped sounded like defeat to his sister, and nodded.   
“I’ll stay, for now.” Danny looked at his sister, who he could see was finding it difficult to see him wanting to stay with the Fruitloop who used to torment him on a weekly basis. Just as he was going to assure his sister that he would be okay, there was a knock at the front door and they all knew that it would be the Fenton’s.  
Vlad left to answer the door and Danny could tell the moment that he opened it because he heard his dads classic greeting for the ‘V-Man’. Preparing himself to see his parents, Danny took a steadying breath, this was not going to be easy on him and he didn’t want to give them any clue as to his whereabouts for the last 6 weeks.   
A soft knock sounded on the bedroom door, Jaz took his hand in support and Danny was faced with his parents, the two people who had tortured him for the last 6 weeks. Seeing them now, he wasn’t sure if he would ever be ready to go home, because all he saw were his tormentors. They both rushed to his side and embraced him, his body wanting to deny the touch.   
“My baby! You’re okay, I can’t believe you are here.” His mother cried into his neck.   
“Danny boy, we’re so glad you came back to us, we were so worried about you.” His father was trying to hold back tears of his own.  
Danny was trying to hold his composure, he knew that his parents cared for him, how they would do anything for him. That had been made perfectly clear when they were trying to get his location from the ‘ghost boy’. “I’m ok. Just tired. And sore, maybe a little banged up. Nothing for you guys to worry about. I’m back and everything is going to be ok.” Danny assured his parents. He knew they weren’t to blame for the whole incident, at least that’s what he told himself.   
“oh sweetie, I was so worried about you, I’m your mother and that’s what mothers do, we worry for our children. I thought that we had lost you, we tried everything we could think of to find out where you had been taken.”   
“I think that Daniel needs a little more rest, why don’t we leave him to get some rest for now.” Vlad interjected himself into the family moment that was going on, Danny was relieved because he didn’t think that he would be able to stomach his parents telling him anything that they had done to try and get him back, especially when he had lived all of it firsthand.  
************************************************************************************* 

**Flashback**  
Danny woke up to find himself strapped to an exam table, looking around himself he saw that he was in the lab at Fentonworks. He didn’t know what had happened to him, just that the last thing that he remembered was a pinch in his arm before everything went dark.   
At the moment, he was alone in the lab, testing his bonds he was met with an electrical shock that ran through his body and almost made him lose consciousness again. Fighting against his dimming vision, Danny heard voices coming closer to him and recognized them as his parents.   
“Maddie, don’t worry. I’m sure he is fine, just out with his friends enjoying the summer.” His dad was saying. They must have been talking about him, which means that his Mom was worried about where he was, how long had he been out?  
“Jack, I’m not so sure. When I called the Manson’s, they said Sam was at Tuckers and when I called the Foleys they said that he was at Sam’s. That doesn’t tell us where our boy is. What if that ghost we caught is keeping him somewhere?”  
“Then we will just have to get the information out of him, MOLECULE BY MOLECULE!”

 

*************************************************************************************************************************  
After quite a bit of convincing, Danny’s parents agreed that him staying at Vlad’s was what was best for him. Vlad could do all the convincing with his smooth talking, and all he had to do to convince Maddie was to tell her that he had the best doctors in the country looking after her son. During all this Danny spent most of his time in bed, avoiding his family and it wasn’t soon enough that they were heading back to Fentonworks and leaving him in peace at Vlad’s house.  
A couple of days after their departure Danny decided that he was ready to venture out of his room. Thus far Vlad had left him pretty much alone to heal his injuries and figure out what he wanted to do next, only bringing him food and sending his staff to attend to his every need. Descending the steps of the overly large mansion, Danny was sure that he was getting lost. He had been here before, but had never really paid attention to his surroundings.  
Making his way into the study, Danny saw his host. Vlad was sitting at his desk, on the computer working on something. Standing in the doorway Danny watched the man work, he knew that he was probably interrupting, but he really didn’t care.   
“Can I help you Daniel?” Vlad asked typing away   
“No, I just wanted to get up and stretch my legs.” Danny watched Vlad type away for a few more minutes in silence. “Vlad… by the way…. I just want to…” Danny let the sentence trail off. He really didn’t know how to continue, this was awkward enough without him standing in the doorway of his onetime nemesis’ study.   
“Daniel, come in and sit down. Do stop lingering in the doorway,” At this Vlad shut his laptop, stood up from his desk and went to sit in a comfy looking chair in front of the fireplace. “There is no reason to thank me, it’s the least that I can do after the ordeal that you went through.”  
Danny cautiously entered the study, taking a seat in the chair next to Vlad’s. “I don’t understand Vlad, why are you letting me stay here? Being nice to me and acting like you care?” Danny was very confused about this whole situation. It was almost surreal sitting here with Vlad and having this conversation.   
“Little Badger, I must admit, when I had heard that you were missing I may have lost my cool. Hearing that the one constant person in my life for the past couple of years was gone? It deeply unsettled me. Despite all the animosity that has been between the two of us, I may have grown accustomed to your presence.” Vlad looked a little embarrassed to be admitting such things to him. “When Jaz showed up on my doorstep with you in that state, I saw our whole relationship in a different light.”  
Danny thought about what Vlad was telling him, it was true that over the last year or so the way they fought each other had drastically changed. It seemed as if their encounters had turned more into training sessions than actual fights. Also, even though Danny would never admit it, he knew that his feelings for the other halfa were not what they used to be. For some time now he had harbored amorous feelings for the older halfa, and the man had starred in more than a few of his racier fantasies, especially after a particularly heated fight between the two.   
“Vlad, I’m not sure what to make of what your telling me.”  
Vlad didn’t know if the boy was ready to hear what he had to tell him. It was one thing to hear that your one time nemesis now cared for your well-being, it was another entirely to hear that he was obsessed with you in an amorous way. Something just drew him to the boy, he wasn’t sure what it was. “Daniel, I am just saying that I no longer think of us as enemies.”  
Danny thought about it for a minute, if Vlad no longer thought of him as an enemy maybe they could be friends? He knew that being Vlad’s friend was the last thing that he wanted, considering his feelings towards the elder halfa, but he would settle for what he could get. “Vlad… I know this may sound weird but… maybe we could be friends?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Badger, I would love to be your friend. As a matter of fact I think that we have been for quite some time.” Vlad was ecstatic that Danny wanted to be his friend, for now. The boy was still young, and quite frankly, Vlad wasn’t a pedophile. Danny would be turning 18 in less than 6 months, it would give their friendship time to grow. Thinking about what he would have to do in the meantime to paint himself in a positive light to the boy, Vlad was enjoying the pleased smile from his little badgers face, he would make it an easy transition from friend to lover.   
“Great, so…. What do you want to do?” Danny was pleased that Vlad wanted to be friends, and knew that it would be pushing him to ask if they could be more. He didn’t really blame the man, he had known Danny since he was 14 years old, he probably only thought of him as a child. But, having never been ‘friends’ with someone who wasn’t his own age, he didn’t really know what to do now.   
“Let’s just talk Daniel, I’m sure that there are things that you would like to share. You can talk to me about anything, not just the recent incident with your parents. We can talk about school, girls, friends, ghosts, anything really.” Vlad smiled encouragingly at Danny, He wanted to make the younger halfa comfortable with him, talking seemed like a good idea. Was this what teenagers did? This was ‘hanging out’, right?  
“Well, I’m not really sure how school is at the moment, I missed a lot of work and I’m sure that making it all up is going to be a pain. I haven’t talked to Sam or Tuck yet, so as far as I know they are doing ok, and they really are my only other friends. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about the incident yet. What about you? Work, girls, friends, Ghosts?” Danny was thinking that this was kind of awkward. He didn’t like girls, he had figured that out after a couple of ‘fake-out-make-outs’ with Sam, but he didn’t know if he should tell Vlad that. He liked this tentative friendship and didn’t want to push the man away or hear that this must just be a phase.   
Vlad laughed, a sound that made Danny feel all tingly inside. It was really just a chuckle really, like Vlad had a secret and something that Danny had said was funny because he wasn’t in the know.   
“Oh Daniel, work is just that, work. My holdings and businesses unfortunately do not run themselves. I am currently working on acquiring a grant with the men in white to see about some of their ghost weapons, as you are well aware they are subpar at best and really just abysmal if we are being honest with ourselves. As far as friends go, you are probably my only friend, since I don’t really count that buffoon you have for a father, ghosts are the same way, just there to do my bidding when I need things done in the ghost zone that I am unable to complete myself. As far as women go, since I am much too old to be into ‘girls’, I found that I’m not really interested in them much these days. I have found a new obsession, since I let go of the idea of your mother a few years ago, and have set my sight on attaining their affections. Anyways, you should think about calling your friends. I am sure that they miss you and they are welcome to come visit as long as it doesn’t conflict with your therapy sessions or doctor visits.”  
Danny tried to process all of what Vlad said. With his posh way of talking it was a little difficult for him to follow sometimes, but mostly just if he was too tired to keep up. What grabbed his attention the most though was that Vlad had a new obsession. That was new. He knew that a ghosts obsession was essentially their driving force in their afterlife, it was what kept them together and allowed them to exist on both planes of existence. Danny’s was his obsession with saving/helping others. Vlad’s had been his obsession with Danny’s Mom, and if that had changed, then Danny wanted to know who could have grabbed the older halfa’s attention enough to become his new obsession. It almost made Danny jealous to think about, he wanted Vlad’s attention, but what stopped the jealousy was the look in the mans eyes when he said it, it was a look of peace that he had never seen when Vlad had talked of wanting to have Maddie.   
“I’ll call them then. Maybe they would want to come over tomorrow after school or something.” Danny yawned. The chair he was in really was comfy, and the fire was warming him in a way that nothing else had since he was rescued. He could feel himself drifting off, and even as he wanted to fight it, his body was still recovering and he had put off sleep for far too long already.

*******************************************************************************************************************

**Flashback**  
The pain was almost unbearable. The volts of electricity coursing through his body, lighting him on fire from the very center of his being. He had no concept of time, had it been a day? Or maybe a week? There was no telling, the only way to mark the passage of time was by the appearance and absence of his tormentors, he couldn’t call them his parents in this situation. It was then that the fire stopped in its mission to char him from the inside out, but the twitching and tightness of his muscles still continued.   
“Where’s Danny,” The woman asked, her face a mask of determination. He couldn’t tell them, wouldn’t. They should know that by now he wasn’t going to talk. “Tell me where my baby is!” Maddie touched the end of the electric prong back onto his chest.   
The fire came back with a vengeance. His muscles painfully contracting against the new onslaught of pain. It continued in this fashion for what Danny counted as three periods of blissful unconsciousness. That’s what he had decided to track the time in.  
********************************************************************************************************************

Danny Jerked awake and almost fell out of the chair that he was curled up in, He would have if it wasn’t for Vlad’s sturdy hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into the chair.   
“ Are you ok little badger?” Vlad gently asked, seeing that he wasn’t going to fall out of his seat anymore, he released the hand he had on his shoulder. “It sounded like you were having a nightmare.”   
“Vlad! Is it really you, am I really here?” Danny was still ore than a little spooked from the flashback.  
“Yes Badger, you really are here in my home, your safe here.”  
“How do I know? I’ve had dreams like this before, how do I know that this isn’t another one?”  
“Come here Daniel,“ Vlad opened his arm in an invitation for Danny to climb into his lap, thinking that physical contact would help to ground the boy in this reality. “I’m not going to hurt you.”  
Danny figured that if this was a dream, something that his mind had conjured up to protect him from the torture that was happening to his body in the real world, he would take everything that he could get. There was no way that he was going to pass up a chance to sit in his crushes lap, real or imagined, so he slowly moved into the embrace, like a deer cautiously edging towards the edge of the forest before crossing the great divide, afraid that something was going to come crashing into them, preventing them from reaching their goal.   
Climbing onto Vlad’s lap, straddling the older Halfa so that he could feel their hearts beat against each other, Danny cautiously wrapped his arms around the older mans neck. Snuggling into the unintentionally, on the youngers part, erotic embrace.   
“I’m going to move us upstairs to your bedroom, I will stay with you as long as you need little badger, I will never leave you alone again.” Vlad stood from his seat, tightly holding Danny to him as the boys slim arms wound tighter around his neck and his legs wrapped around his waist. He flew up and phased through the ceiling onto the second floor, down the hall and into Danny’s room. Making to lay the boy onto the bed, Vlad felt the tightening of limbs again as he made to let go.   
“Please, please don’t leave me…” The voice coming out of Danny was so small, almost broken; it broke Vlad’s heart to hear the boy hero sound so small. “I don’t want it to be over yet.”  
Hovering so that he could turn them and place himself in between the bed and the boy, Vlad situated them on the bed and listened to Danny breathe, until the breathes puffing against his neck even out in the pattern of sleep, only then did Vlad allow himself to drift off.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny woke slowly the next morning, coming up from the depths of sleep the first thing that he realized was that whatever he was laying on was soft, much too soft to be the exam table. He also realized that he was warm, and the band around his waist was warm too, like a blanket just out of the dryer. As he slowly became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that he was in a bed, and that the pillow that his head was on was moving. Opening his eyes, only to be hit in the face with bright sunlight peaking from In between the curtains, he focused on what he was laying on only to be greeted by a chiseled chest with a tight fitting t-shirt. Following the expanse of chest upwards, Danny saw that he was in fact laying in Vlads arms. The older man was asleep, his face unmarred by the usual lines, his grip tight on Danny, whom he had pulled towards his chest like a human sized teddy bear.   
Danny took a minute to watch Vlad as he slept, never having seen the man anything less than pristine. This morning though, his hair was messy, having been left loose; his shirt rumpled, since he had slept in it; and if Danny wasn’t mistaken, sporting a considerable morning wood. Danny felt the erection pushed up against his stomach, not quite fully hard, but noticeable enough to get Danny’s attention.   
Danny started to squirm, He really needed to use the bathroom. It was then that he realized that it seemed as if Vlad was responding to his movements, He was sure that the huge rod that was currently poking him in the stomach was getting firmer. Danny was curious, what would happen if he kept rubbing against Vlad? Would he wake up? Maybe not if he made smallish movements? Partly wanting to see what would happen, Partly because he really did need to get free and go to the bathroom, Danny continued his movements.   
It only took a minute or so of squirming for Vlad to begin to start moving against him, just light little thrusts. Encouraged by Vlad’s reaction and his continual sleep, Danny started to move a little more. Looking into Vlad’s face he could hear the almost there grunts, not the obscene ones he had heard the couple of times he and Tucker had watched porn, but little puffs like when you do sit-ups and the breath is leaving you as you use your muscles. He saw Vlad’s eyes moving behind his eyelids, like he was dreaming of something, someone? It was probably only a minute more before Danny realized that Vlad was beginning to wake up from all of his moving, so before the other Halfa could find out what he was doing he stopped moving and ducked his head back down, so that he could hide the blush on his face.   
Vlad thrust a few more times before he woke with a whispered “Daniel” on his lips, immediately stilling when he realized where he was and who he was with. His arms became stiff around Danny’s waist, his whole posture going rigid. Looking down at the younger Halfa beside him, Vlad was mortified by what he had done. Even though he hadn’t orgasmed, he had still awoken to himself rutting against Daniel like he was in heat. He realized that Danny seemed to still be asleep, and hoped that was the case and that Daniel wouldn’t know his disgrace. Forcing himself to relax, so as to not wake the boy and draw further attention to his predicament, Vlad began to slowly try and disentangle himself.   
Danny was confused, he had thought that he heard Vlad whisper his name before he woke up, but it seemed as if when he awoke to find him in his arms, it put the older man on edge. Now Vlad was slowly trying to get out of bed and away from Danny, he didn’t know what to do. Deciding that he would just play like he was just now waking up, and that if Vlad brought up his earlier movements that started this, he would say that he must have had to go to the bathroom (which he still did, so that was true) and had started moving in his sleep.   
Danny lifted his head, feigning grogginess, and slowly looked up towards Vlad. “Good Morning.”  
“Good morning little Badger, how did you sleep.” Stopping his progression towards freeing himself from his little badger, Vlad remained calm despite his panic.   
“Well, but I need to pee.” Danny was blushing fire engine red, honestly it wasn’t healthy to turn this color. Vlad released his hold on the boy, letting him get up and watching as he slid out of the bed and walked around to get to the bathroom. It was then that he noticed that the other halfa was sporting a similar tent in his PJs as his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are definitely heating up a little, Just a small little chapter to help me procrastinate the things that I should be doing. Like maybe.... Studying for a test or comprehensive final?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own nothin'! Enjoy the chapter, PLEASE excuse the turn it takes.

Danny hurried into the bathroom, when he got there he found that he was not unaffected by what he had done to Vlad, he was painfully aroused and didn’t think it a good idea to go back out there with the evidence in full view. Deciding on a shower to give him time to handle his problem, Danny went about finding towels and soaps, all of which were fully stocked in the bathroom. Thinking that it was probably past time for him to have taken a shower, not that he was really dirty or anything, but in the couple of days since he had been fully awake, he hadn’t really done anything that would make him feel like showering. After all, Vlad, or more likely his medical staff, had cleaned him up while he was still unconscious when he first got here. 

Turning on the water and waiting a couple of minutes for it to warm up, Danny took a minute to appreciate the overly large bathroom. Not only was the shower that he was getting ready to get in huge, with two shower heads and a hand sprayer, but there was a wraparound bench to the completely glass door that enclosed the area and would keep the heat in. Did he mention the sunk in tub that would probably fit a dozen people? Everything was all top of the line and opulent, and made him wonder if this was what the guest accommodations looked like, how awesome was Vlad’s bathroom?

Getting under the warm water from the shower, Danny began to let his muscles relax and his mind wander, which made him totally unprepared for the flashback that hit him. 

***  
He was still strapped to the table, though it was tilted until he was almost vertical, the band around his waist doing nothing to alleviate the pressure on his wrists. He was covered in ectoplasm and had open wounds still leaking the thick green stuff. He thought that it might have been two weeks? Maybe Three? His body was healing the wounds as fast as they could, but had slowed down as if it knew that there wasn’t any point anymore. Danny didn’t react to hearing the lab door open, it must have been time for more interrogation. 

Maddie came down the stairs, a disgusted look in her eyes, no softness for the boy, no ghost, strapped to her exam table. Maddie got to work on what she had come down here to do, slicing the jumpsuit off of Danny, who moaned at her rough treatment when she carelessly cut into the skin, adding to the sum of his injuries. He was in so much pain at this point that he didn’t even care that he was completely bared to his mom, no tormentor, completely vulnerable to whatever she planned to do next. It was then he realized that she had stepped back to take a look at him, almost like she was staring at a science exhibit. 

She bent down to pick something up, what Danny realized was a hose, the industrial one that they had purchased to clean the lab with. Dread pooled in Danny’s stomach, she wasn’t going to use that on him, she couldn’t, it would rip his skin off. Danny screamed when the water hit his chest, as he thought the force of it was enough to peel his skin and leave it raw and bleeding ectoplasm. Maddie paid it no mind, continuing with her job of cleaning him, and not caring that she was causing the ghost more injuries. 

By the time that she was done with her task, Danny had passed out from the pain, only just able to keep himself from transforming back. That was the first time that his mind played tricks on him, making him believe in a reality that he saved the world from a giant meteor and everyone knew his secret and accepted him. 

***  
Vlad heard the shower turn on, and deciding that a shower sounded good about now, he got up from the bed and went to his own bathroom. Turning on the water to warm while he went to gather his towel and to decide what he wanted to wear that day since he wasn’t planning on going into the office, he peeled his nightclothes off as he went, deciding to pick them up when he was finished. 

Getting into the overly large, ornate shower, Vlad began to wash his hair, enjoying the feel of his manicured nails as they scrubbed at the white locks. Rinsing and putting conditioner in to set for a minute, he lathered up his loofah and scrubbed, for the moment ignoring his arousal. Rinsing his hair finally and his body, Vlad tried to recall the dream he was having before he woke up next to Danny. 

In the dream Daniel was on his knees in front of Vlad, blue eyes looking up at him with lust through the fringe of dark unmanageable hair. Both the Halfa’s were naked, and Vlad could see that Daniel was as aroused as he was himself. Dream Daniel reached a tentative hand out to touch Vlad’s length, just barely touching the skin before gripping and beginning to stroke. Vlad watched as Daniel stared transfixed on the sight of his own hand on the other man until the sensations started to become too much and he had to shut his eyes. 

Vlad was surprised to feel kitten licks to his erection, tentative, and he resisted the urge to thrust into them. Wanting more, needing it, Vlad let out a moan that seemed to spur Daniel on, because before Vlad could brace himself, he was being swallowed into a warm wet cavern. Losing control at the onslaught of feelings, Vlad began to thrust into the wet mouth around him, something that Daniel didn’t seem to mind, since he felt the resulting moan vibrate around his dick. Placing his hands in the messy black hair of his partner, Vlad held him still and continued to thrust, mindful of his partners ability to breathe. Vlad could feel his orgasm coming towards him, his rhythm starting to stutter as he continued to thrust and chase the pleasure he knew was coming. Three, maybe four, more thrusts and he was there. Stars burst behind his eyes and he felt his release leaving him spent and sated.

Vlad finally opened his eyes, he was leaning with one arm on the wall of the shower, heart racing, breathing quickly, ejaculate painted on the wall of the shower. Shifting slightly so that he could crumple onto the shower bench beside him, Vlad finally let his shaking legs give out. Never had he had a fantasy feel so real. 

Relaxing on the bench for a few more minutes while he let the warm water rain down, Vlad thought about how he wanted to play out the next six months until Daniels 18th birthday. They would definitely continue on the path that they started on yesterday, friends, then maybe in a couple of months, depending on Daniels progress with his trauma, they could start ‘dating”, that sounded like a good course of action. Vlad wanted the boy, in every way possible, he didn’t want to try and push him away by moving too fast, or by pushing himself on Daniel if he didn’t feel the same way. 

Sighing about the long road ahead of him, Vlad pushed himself up and turned off the water. Toweling himself dry he finished getting ready for the day. If he wasn’t mistaken Daniels friends would be coming over today to visit later, but maybe afterwards the two of them could catch a movie in his private theater. In the mean time he was going to go check on his badger so that they could have breakfast together since neither of them had dinner last night. 

Vlad entered Danny’s bedroom and could tell that something was wrong, he had taken more than enough time for the younger halfa to have showered and gotten dressed, going so far as to teleport down to the kitchen and speak with the chef about having breakfast ready for the two of them in the dining room. “Daniel?” He called out to the other as he crossed the room to the en suite bathroom. 

He got no reply, listening closely to hear over the water to see if the boy just hadn’t heard him, Vlad heard a whimpering sound. Opening the door slowly, so as to not scare the boy, Vlad peaked over towards the running shower, only to see that Daniel was curled up in the corner of the stall knees to chest making himself as small as could be. 

Vlad slowly approached the shower stall, opened the door and reached in to shut off the water, still not getting any indication that Daniel was aware of his presence, Vlad walked in and crouched in front of the younger male. “Daniel?” 

Startled out of his flashback, Danny flinched from the hand that was reaching towards him. Trying to back away but finding he was already against the wall, Danny struggled to see who his attacker was through the fog of the shower. Which brought him up short, he never got to take a shower when he was in the lab, it was always the hose. Forcing himself to calm down, even though his whole being was telling him to fight, Danny looked up to see Vlad crouched down in front of him with a concerned look on his face. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked again, he wasn’t going to ask him if he was OK, he clearly was not.   
With a sob Danny threw himself towards Vlad, he needed to feel safe, something that he was only feeling lately when he was with Vlad. How long was he going to be able to go on like this? Already it seemed like this was just another reality that his brain had conjured to help him get away from the pain. 

Trying to calm the boy down, Vlad returned the embrace, rocking him and murmuring assurances that it would be OK. Picking him up, Vlad carried Daniel to the bed, where he held him until he seemed to calm down. It was awhile before either one spoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, I am getting ready for finals. Updates will probably be slow to nonexistent until closer to Christmas, and the speed after that will probably depend on how busy I am during the holidays. Just a warning so that no one thinks I am abandoning the story and leaving it on this sad note.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny spends some time with Sam and Tuck. Danny and Vlad have a slightly heated moment at the end, and start off the chapter with some feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, I'm going to bed! It is currently 4am and I valiantly (Read:Stubbornly) stayed up to finish it. Enjoy and please feel free to tell me what you think at the end.

Chapter 5

It was almost an hour before either one of them spoke, and it was then that Danny realized that he was still naked. “Vlad? Do you think I could get dressed?” Danny asked with his face aflame. 

Vlad released him and Danny jumped up and scurried to the closet. Throwing on his jeans and t-shirt he came back out to see Vlad sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees and head lowered. 

“Vlad?” Danny asked tentatively, he wasn’t sure what was going on. Had he done something wrong? Angered Vlad in some way? Was this where the rug was pulled out from under him and the illusion ended? “Is everything okay?”

Vlad’s head came up and he took a moment to scrutinize Danny, which made him squirm. “Badger, what happened in the bathroom?”

“Nothing?” Danny tried, knowing that the older halfa wouldn’t allow it. 

“Daniel, you don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, but I think that you should talk to someone, and I told Maddie and Jack that I would have the best doctors for you.”

“Vlad, can we not do this right now? Sam and Tucker should be here soon and I’m not sure that I am ready to talk just yet, okay?” Danny walked towards the bed, feeling the need to get closer to the man even though he wanted nothing more than to run away from the conversation. 

“Badger,” Vlad started, pulling the young man towards him and cupping his face to direct him to look at him. “I understand, but remember that I am here for you. I also want to stress that you will be talking to a therapist at some point.”

Danny nodded, he knew that he needed to talk, but for now he just wanted to forget about what had happened and move on. 

“Good, now, how about some breakfast? You have got to be hungry by now! I don’t think that you’ve eaten since lunch yesterday and it’s about that time again today.”

The two head towards the dining room that still had the breakfast that Vlad had prepared earlier, Vlad keeping his hand on the small of Danny’s back. He Guided the boy to sit at the place that was set for him, sitting down next to Danny they both quietly tucked in. Vlad had the chef make a mixed fruit salad, pancakes that they had kept warm under a dome, bacon, and some warm herbal tea. 

Danny picked at the fruit and ate all of the bacon, but didn’t touch the pancakes. Vlad watched him continue to pick, he knew that Danny needed more nutrients to help him to recover from the malnutrition of the last several weeks. At the moment though he didn’t want to push it, he could tell that the boy was still unsettled from this morning and didn’t want to push it. 

Later that day Danny seemed to be fine when Sam and Tucker came by to see him. The three spent lots of time catching Danny up on what had been happening at school, Dash had failed his senior year, keeping him at Casper high with the trio, something that Sam and Tucker decided was a very bad idea. 

Since he had been kept back to graduate, Dash wasn’t allowed to play football, which left him very few outlets for his anger issues, which also left him with only the nerds to vent on. If Danny was still there, he would have been outlet number one, but since he wasn’t that left Tucker. The techno nerd was bemoaning his fate as the ‘chosen one’ of Dash’s bullying and how he was probably never going to be able to straighten out again with the amount of time that he had spent shoved in his locker. 

A couple of hours later the three decided to call it quits, Sam and Tuck still had homework to finish and Danny was feeling pretty tired. He was kind of surprised that Sam and Tuck hadn’t brought up his living with Vlad, they understood that the relationship between the two had changed before everything that had happened. They might not understand to what degree to Danny, he hadn’t had the chance to tell them that he had a crush on Vlad, but they had noticed that the two halfa’s were less antagonistic towards each other lately. 

Danny stretched out on the bed, thinking back to this morning. Waking up in Vlad’s arms had been amazing, and the thrill of knowing that he had done that to Vlad and it had just to felt so good. It was probably the best morning ever until the incident in the shower. 

Speaking of what happened in the shower, Danny knew that Vlad wanted to talk about it, and he knew that he needed to talk about it with someone, but would Vlad think he was weak, or would it collapse the fantasy and he would find himself back in the lab. He wasn’t letting go of that possibility just yet. 

Danny was relaxing back on the bed, thinking about what had happened in the bed that morning, when he felt a shadow fall across him. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of the man his thoughts were focused on. Vlad was looking down on him hands on hips, broad chest on display for Danny to ogle. 

“Hello little badger, tired out after all of that teenage socializing?” The man lifted one slim eyebrow. Danny was taking his time looking Vlad up and down. He was feeling bold right now, thinking that maybe he could get away with looking at the very delicious torso above him, something that didn’t escape the older mans attention. 

“A little, but for some reason I can’t seem to get comfortable,” Danny replied trying to sound coy as he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back a little. What was getting into him! This level of boldness was unprecedented in him before, but for some reason he was feeling a little reckless. 

Vlad noticed the posturing, and appreciated it. The lithe body below him and the alluring smell wafting towards him. He wanted to bury his face in the boys chest and drink in the smell. Vlad was in the process of doing just that when he caught himself. He knew what was going on, Danny was putting off pheromones, trying to lure him in. What he couldn’t figure out was if Danny was doing it intentionally or not. 

“Daniel,” Vlad warned in a stern voice that made Danny shiver. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing Sir,” Danny said lowering his eyes and baring his neck, feeling like this was the correct response. 

“Daniel, look at me.” He commanded, falling into the script that Daniel was laying before him. He needed to stop this before he got out of hand. Daniel wasn’t ready for this, hell Vlad wasn’t ready for this. Vlad wanted to take things slow, give Daniel time to heal from his captivity, give him time to grow up a bit. Vlad knew that if they went through with this, if they mated in the ghost way, that there would be no going back. “You need to pull the pheromones back.”

“Why Sir? Do you not want me?” Danny asked with a pout, further posturing, which causes him to unconsciously push out more pheromones. He wanted Vlad to want him, to make him feel safe. 

“Daniel, it’s not that I don’t want you, but I want to do this on our own terms, not under the influence of your pheromones.” Vlad clarified, backing up slightly from the bed. If   
Danny pushed his pheromones any harder, Vlad might give in unless he could get physical distance between them. 

Something happened inside of Danny when he saw Vlad back away from him. The slightly fuzzy feeling that had come over him when he started feeling reckless faded like he had been doused in cold water. “What’s wrong with me? Am I doing something wrong?” Danny was starting to panic, thinking that he had done something to mess up whatever he could potentially have with Vlad. 

“Nothing Badger, everything is going to be alright, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Vlad was quick to reassure him, feeling the pheromones fade into nothing, he went towards the bed to comfort the younger halfa. There had to be a reason that Daniel felt the need to pull his pheromones out on him, he must have been feeling something, needing something that he thought that only Vlad could give him maybe. He climbed on the bed and gathered the boy in his arms, trying to calm him and stop him from spiraling into panic. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Danny clung to Vlad, he needed the feeling of safety that he’s been getting from the older halfa. Pressing his body as close as he could get it to Vlad, he felt the warmth of the other man. “Please stay, don’t leave me.” Danny said in a small voice, he hated that he sounded that way. 

“Of course Badger, I’m not going anywhere.” Vlad softly said into his hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for now, let me know what you think. Life is getting ready to get really busy for me but at the same time I might have some free time before all hell breaks loose!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's first therapy session does not go smoothly, Danny and Vlad discuss other options.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual disclaimers apply. Also, I'm not a therapist and the one in this story is probably doing things all wrong, but I needed her to get the story where I needed it. Merry Christmas and Enjoy!

Danny woke the next morning alone, reaching out to the other side of the bed where he knew that had previously held Vlad, he felt that it was cold. Vlad had been gone for some time. He scooted towards the spot, burying his nose in the pillow to inhale the older halfas’ scent, something he was realizing was helping him cope with things. 

That was how Vlad found him a little while later. Leaning against the door, watching the prone form of the boy as he breathed in the scent. It was becoming clearer everyday that the two were mates, maybe it was because they were the only two of their kind, nature would find a way for them to continue their species? Pushing off the door, Vlad made his way to the bed and called out to the boy, not wanting to startle him. 

“Daniel, I have someone downstairs that would like to talk to you.” Vlad quietly said while rubbing soothing circles on the boys back. 

“I don’t want to move,” Danny grumbled into the pillow. He had a feeling that the person downstairs was a therapist, and he knew that he needed to talk to them, but he really didn’t want to get up. He felt safe where he was, his face smothered in the pillow that smelled like Vlad. 

“Daniel, please? I just want you to start healing so that you can move on with your life.” 

“Vlad, lets start healing tomorrow. Today lets just relax and cuddle, we can focus on healing my body. You know that relaxation is the best medicine?” Danny flashed a winning smile over his shoulder, still making no move to get up. 

Vlad really wanted to give into Danny, the last thing that he wanted was to force the boy to relive what had happened to him, but the sooner that they got started the sooner they would be able to move on, hopefully in the direction Vlad wanted to go in. “Come on Daniel, up you get. I know that you don’t want to do this right now, but lets make a deal. You start your sessions today, and right after we can do some relaxing and cuddling. Deal?” Vlad held out his hand expectantly.

“And you sleep with me every night?”

“Yes, we can sleep together every night, in my bed of course. Deal?” 

“Deal.” The two shook on it. Danny sitting up and swinging his legs off the side of the bed.   
******************************************************************************  
“Daniel, why don’t you tell me about what happened yesterday morning, in the shower?” Dr. Sue asked. It was several minutes into the session, after the introductions, that she had decided to just get down to it. After the breakdown that Vlad had described to her before their meeting, Sue knew that it was dire that they started treatment. 

“I showered, you know cleaned my body, might have washed my hair. What do you do in the shower?” Danny was hiding behind his sarcasm, he knew this. Even though he had told Vlad he would start the sessions, he never said that he was ready to open up. 

“Your being defensive with me, all I want is for you to share with me, let me help you.”

“I can’t, I don’t think that I’m ready.” Danny was panicking a little, having trouble breathing. He could feel his vision tunneling, feeling himself lose grip on the present.   
*********************FLASHBACK*********************************  
“Tell me where my son is!” Maddie screamed in his face. It had been going on like this for the past two, maybe three, days? They would come in the morning; sometimes one, sometimes both, and would scream and cut at him. It had started as small cuts, just to cause him pain and hopefully loosen his lips, and had now progressed to amputation. 

So far they had taken his fingers and toes, today it seemed like they would have to move on to another area. There was more screaming, more demands to know where Fenton was, and when he wouldn’t say anything they brought out the dissection equipment. It looked like they were pulling teeth today. 

“Haha, looks like getting information out of me is like pulling teeth.” He muttered under his breath. 

“Shut up! I just want to know where my son is.” Maddie cried as she pulled another. 

It was a few more hours before they decided to finish for the night, leaving Danny to heal what he could in the time that they were gone. He knew that he healed fast, but the time that it took to apparently regrow limbs and bones too a lot longer than it did to heal cuts and bruises. 

As he lay there, the pain set it, he could feel his teeth as they started to grow back, cutting through the gums. He had been able to block out the dull ache of re-growing the bones of his fingers and toes during the torture earlier, but without the distraction it came back full force. Succumbing to the pain, Danny let the blackness of unconsciousness overtake him.   
************************************END FLASHBACK*************************

Danny came back to the present slowly, trying to get his bearings. He could feel that he was laying down, on something soft. He could feel someone running their fingers through his hair, and that his head was supported on something that was firmer than what the rest of him was resting on. Opening his eyes, Danny saw that he was laying on the couch in the living room that he had been having his session with Dr. Sue, his head resting in Vlad’s lap as he ran his fingers absently through Danny’s hair. 

“What happened?” Danny asked quietly. 

“You had a panic attack and passed out.” Vlad replied, looking down into the sky blue eyes of the boy, When he had come to check on how the session had went, he had walked in as Danny lost consciousness while the therapist was trying unsuccessfully to calm him enough and trying to get him to slow his breathing. 

“She pushed too hard,” Danny murmured. He felt like he had failed Vlad, they had a deal after all. Even though he was hoping to keep the doctor at arm’s length, He knew that Vlad would be disappointed with how he had acted. At the time, he hadn’t cared, deals be damned, he wasn’t ready to talk yet and the woman just kept pushing. 

“I’m sorry Badger, I knew that she was known for being very tough on her patients, I thought that you would want to get past this quickly so I hired her because she is the best at what she does. I do understand though if you feel the need to seek help with someone else.”

“I don’t know her, and how can I tell her anything about being a halfa? I can’t take the risk that she will tell anyone about my being phantom.” 

Vlad had wondered about this as well, but knowing that he had more than enough money to buy the woman’s silence, and if she talked he could most definitely bury her legally since he had the best lawyers in the world on retainer. He had also considered asking Penelope Spectra for her help, though not ideal, Daniel would be able to be open with his ghostly powers. “Daniel, do you trust me?”

“Of course Vlad, we’re friends, right?” Danny was looking up at him with big doe eyes, so full of trust. It awed Vlad that someone would trust him so completely in such a short time. Four years ago they were at each other’s throats, and now they were ‘friends’, at least until Vlad could move things along. 

“Yes Badger, we are. As your friend I want you to get better, and I realize that even though Dr. Sue is the best in her field, she may not be the best for you. I want to suggest something to you and I want you to listen to what I have to say, can you do that for me?” 

“Yeah Vlad, I can do that.” 

“I am thinking of hiring Spectra to help with your therapy. I know that-“

“No,” Danny interrupted.

“Daniel, you said you would listen. I know that you and Spectra do not see eye to eye, and that you have your differences, but she would be willing to help you. I would do anything to help you, even call in Spectra. I don’t think you realize how important you have become to the rest of the ghost community, your absence was noted, and not just by myself. Others were looking for you and not just those who have been your allies for the past four years, but those that you have fought against. The ghost community has come to see you as not only their protector but also its conscious. Since you defeated Pariah Dark, you’ve been a leading figure for the Ghost Zone.

I’m just asking that you give it a try, you could truly tell her everything, and if it would make you more comfortable I would be there for you every session to make sure she is truly helping you. Just think on it for now Daniel, we can continue with Dr. Sue for now, just until you make up your mind.”

Daniel thought it over, he wasn’t sure if he really wanted Spectra to be digging around in his head, but he trusted Vlad and if he thought it would be the best option, it probably was. “Okay, but only if you’re there. I don’t want to be left alone with her and I want you to know what happened. I don’t think that I could talk through it twice.”

“Anything you need Badger, I know it’s early still, but why don’t we order some food in and head to bed. You look a little exhausted.” 

“That sounds great, can we have Mexican? I really want some tacos.”

“I said anything Badger, so yes, we can get some tacos, I’ll place the call and meet you upstairs.”

The two had a quiet dinner together, cuddled up in bed with something on Netflix playing in the background that neither one of them was paying attention to. Danny slept curled up against Vlad’s side, much like they had the previous two nights, nightmares held at bay by the warm, strong arms around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, Hope that you enjoyed! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therapy with Spectra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, also enjoy.

Spectra sat down in the wingback chair in Vlad’s sitting room. She had been having sessions with Daniel for about 3 weeks now, and after the initial temptation to manipulate the boys emotions had passed, she had genuinely felt the need to help him. Daniel had been through hell, there was no other word for it. To be tortured by the two people that were supposed to love and care for you unconditionally, even if they didn’t know it was him they were torturing, was possibly the worst thing imaginable.

Spectra had seen a lot of cases of child abuse in her time as a therapist, both before and since she’s been a ghost, but this must have been the worst. When Vlad had initially called her to have her treat Danny, she really thought that he had lost his mind. She was best known for her ability to manipulate peoples emotions, something that she had shamelessly been using to keep herself young and beautiful for years before being peeled by the Fenton Peeler. Since then, she had reigned it in a little, not completely since her obsession was to remain young and beautiful forever, but just enough to fly under Phantoms radar.

Vlad and Danny entered the warm inviting room, bringing Spectra back to her surroundings, she smiled and greeted the two politely as they took their seats on the couch across from her. In the three weeks that they had been doing this, she had come to realize that there was something going on between the two Halfas, she wasn’t completely sure yet, but had an idea that they were mates that were in the process of bonding.

“Hello Danny, how are you today?”

Danny smiled at Spectra, he actually surprised himself with how much he was beginning to trust the female ghost, especially considering their past experiences together. For the past three weeks they had started each session out the same, with Spectra asking how he was, the only thing that had changed was that now he would answer with more than just a ‘fine’.

“I’m good, or at least I feel good today. Not panicky or like this is all a dream.”

“Great, I’m glad to hear that. So what do you want to talk about today?” Spectra was slightly surprised that she really was glad to hear that the boy was having a good day, and didn’t feel any urges to manipulate that. She wanted to see what she could get Danny to share about his captivity today, but knew that she needed to let him decide what he wanted to share.

The first few sessions had been terrible, every time that he had admitted something, or something would remind him of that time, the panic attacks had been so bad that they would have to end the session right then. Now, they were able to make it the whole hour with out a major attack, the minor ones being easily handled by Vlad’s presence. When he had made that a requirement of their sessions, Spectra had wanted to refuse (even though he made it perfectly clear it wasn’t negotiable), but now realized that it really was helpful.

“I think I’m ready to continue from where we left off yesterday? I haven’t had any flashbacks or panic attacks since then and think I can actually continue, if that’s what you want?” Danny was seeing a difference in himself since they had started talking. He wasn’t having as many flashbacks, and he was beginning to realize that this was real, he really was free from the lab.

“That sounds like a great idea Danny,” Spectra settled in with her notepad, seeming relaxed, but knowing that what she was about to hear was going to be hard for her patient to tell.

Danny awoke the next morning and wasn’t sure if he was relieved that his captors were nowhere to be seen, or if he should be worried that he was going to be stuck down there in the dark alone. The lab lights were still off, and the time on the digital clock above the doorway told him that it was approaching noon. He had been allowed to sleep for almost twelve hours. Danny turned his head to look down his arm, not sure if he was relieved by the sight of his own fingers, which he wiggled to see if he could feel. Running his tongue around his mouth, he felt that the teeth that were pulled yesterday had grown back, and wiggling his toes that he couldn’t see, he assumed that they had grow back as well.

Letting himself relax back into the hard metal at his back, Danny allowed himself a moment to hope. Maybe this was all just a nightmare, he hadn’t really been captured, and in a few minutes he would awake to find himself in bed.

It was days that he lay there in the dark, with only the light from the clock to let him know how long it had been. It was mocking him, letting him keep track of the never ending expanse of darkness, ‘helping’ him to keep track of the minutes and hours.

It had been days since he had anything to drink, and even longer since he had been given anything to eat. Thankfully his ghost form didn’t require much of that, it did require some since he was still only half a ghost, but his human half was fading at the lack of nourishment. His captors had realized when he had been unresponsive after 5 days without food or water that he required some nourishment, and that he required some water to be able to answer their questions. It had puzzled them at first, never having to nourish a ghost before. Not that they gave him enough to allow him to escape, but it was better than them starving him to death like they were now.

Suddenly the room was flooded in bright lights, burning Danny’s eyes that had become accustom to the darkness of the last three or four days, he couldn’t remember which. He felt himself begin to panic, they were coming.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, we’re paying you good money to help us find our son and it better work. I know this ghost knows where he is and you promised that you could get the information out of him.” Maddie was saying as she came down the stairs, Danny wasn’t sure who she was talking to, pretty sure that it wasn’t Jack since he couldn’t hear the larger mans booming steps like he usually did.

“I assure you, I am the best at what I do and I can get any information from it that you need.” A smooth voice replied. This voice was accompanied by lighter footsteps than Jack, but slightly heavier footsteps than Maddie.

When the two made it down into the lab, Danny saw that it was a man that had slightly greying brown hair, a pointed nose, and shrewd eyes that seemed to cut through Danny when the man looked his way. He was tall, not quite as tall as Jack, but not far from it, with a muscular frame that was slightly smaller than Jacks. It surprised Danny that the man walked so softly with his size.

“What have you tried so far?” The man asked, still assessing the creature in front of him. He had seen ghosts before, but not all of them looked this human. He saw that the creature seemed to be wasting away, and with what he knew of ghosts they didn’t usually require nourishment, but maybe he could use that to his advantage.

“We tried beating and cutting it, amputating fingers and toes, pulling teeth and pressure washing it’s outer layer off. It seems as if it has some sort of ability to quickly heal itself, and regenerate limbs apparently. Our observations show that it isn’t like other ghosts and requires some food and water or it becomes unresponsive.” Maddie replied in a tone that sounded like she was talking about any of her other experiments. So factual and cold, Danny shivered at the tone, hating being called an ‘it’.

“Good to know, if you will excuse me, I would like to get to work. Now that I know where to start, I will let you know when it tells me where your son is.” Then man shrugged out if his jacket and undid his tie as he said this, nodding towards the door to the lab.

Maddie nodded once in acknowledgement, heading for the door as the man began to unbutton his white shirt, thinking that it would be nice to visit Jazmine for a few days while they left the stranger to his work, he hadn’t wanted to give a name. “By the way, its been six days since it’s eaten and three since its gotten any water. Jack and I are going to leave for a few days while you work to let our daughter know what’s going on, don’t let it die. We need it to tell us where Danny is. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, but it only gets bread and water.”

With that Maddie left and didn’t look back. Danny found himself left alone with the shirtless man, dread like a pit in his stomach.

Danny came back to himself, unable to continue with what had happened to him. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to tell what had happened next. “I can’t… I can’t go on…”

“That’s okay Danny, you did great. That was a lot of time that we made it through today. I’m not sure where we are timeline wise, but I think we’ve made it about half way.” Spectra hurried to assure her patient that it was ok that they stop there for today.

“That sounds about right, if I remember correctly I saw a strange man coming and going from the house around three weeks after Daniel went missing.” This was the first time that Vlad had really had any inputs during one of their sessions, preferring to let Spectra and Danny do all of the talking. Really the only time that he spoke was when he was soothing Daniel during or after a panic attack.

“I think that is enough for today, how about we take an extra day off and all have a three day weekend? We can pick this back up on Monday, or if you need Danny we can jump to another topic, remember there’s no pressure.”

Danny nodded, tired just from talking about what had happened to him. He knew that the next part was going to be the worst, and was conflicted with whether he just wanted to move to another part and save it for later (Or hopefully they would forget and he wouldn’t have to tell), or if he just wanted to get it out in the open. He was pretty sure that if Vlad heard what happened next any hope Danny had of seducing the older Halfa would be gone.

The next morning Danny woke up, much like every other morning for the last three weeks, in Vlads bed, but unlike other mornings, Danny could still feel Vlad curled around him. Usually the other halfa was already up and in his office by the time Danny woke up, something that disappointed Danny since he kind of wanted a repeat of their first morning together.

Rolling over to face the older man, Danny was just as impressed and smitten with him as he had been that first morning. Feeling bold, Danny focused on the soft looking lips of the other man, he wanted to feel them against his own. Not caring if he woke Vlad or not, Danny tilted his head up and wiggled a little to be able to reach and softly pressed his lips to Vlad’s. They were so soft against his own, causing Danny to let out a breathy moan at their feeling.

It was then that Vlad became aware of two things: one, he had overslept after a late night conference call with an overseas CEO for one of his holdings; and two, Daniel’s soft lips were pressed against his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Hope that you enjoyed!


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